Apologies
by MTF
Summary: A one-shot focusing on the changes in Jack and Nathan's relationship. Jack/Nathan pre-slash and slash.


**I've had this written for a while, but I was too damn lazy to type it up. I like it quite well, so I hope you do too.**

It started with an apology. Turns out that losing his temper with Stark one morning actually made Carter feel vaguely guilty later on that night, so he decided to go and formally apologize.

Okay, more than vaguely guilty. He had started shouting before Stark could even explain himself, so once he got off duty he went by Cafe Diem and grabbed a Vinspresso as a peace offering. He was in Global about to knock on Stark's door when Fargo informed him that Dr. Stark had already left for the night. Annoyed about missing Stark and annoyed about Fargo on principle, he got Stark's address from the exhausted looking man and went back to his Jeep.

Jack stopped in Cafe Diem for a second time to grab a fresh Vinspresso, thanking God that Vincent was open slightly later than usual seeing as a Dr. Seunos had stopped in right before closing time. Smirking to himself, Jack pulled open his car door and started the (hopefully) final leg of his mini-adventure.

When he finally stepped onto Stark's porch, he felt a surprising feeling of nervousness welling up in his gut. Ignoring the butterflies, he squared his shoulders and resolutely knocked on the door. When Stark opened the door a few moments later, he held out the coffee and said,

"I'm sorry I was being an ass this morning."

He waited silently for an answer, his heart beating impossibly fast. Stark studied him for a second, and finally pulled the door open all the way and stepped to the side to allow Jack in. Jack followed Stark to his sitting room, where there was hardly any place to sit for all the scientific journals piled on almost every available surface. Stark picked up an armful off the couch so they could sit, and handed them to Jack as he grabbed one off the top. Jack carefully placed the stack at his feet, and studied the cover of the journal Nathan- uh, Stark was glancing over. Artificial Intelligence.

"What's this about, exactly?" he asked without thinking.

Instead of berating him for his curiousity, Stark explained it, more patiently than he previously would have expected.

Four more fights, and four more evenings of scientific journals came and went, and suddenly Stark showed up at Jack's door with a coffee and an apology. Instead of reading science journals, Jack would turn on whatever sports game he could find, and explain why one team was far superior to the other, his explanation occasionally cut into by cheers or cursing.

For months they would show up at the other's house, always armed with an apology and some sort of small offering. One memorable evening found them running into each other at Cafe Diem, preparing to apologize to the other. As they spent more time together, they began arguing less, causing them to spend less time together which caused them to argue more.

The cycle continued until one night Stark opened his front door and Jack just said "Hey."

Suddenly, it was okay for them to see each other for a reason other than working and apologizing. Jack and Nathan became more comfortable invading the other's personal space without it being a life-threatening situation. When Nathan yelled at Fargo, Jack just clapped a hand on his shoulder and asked to hear more about the anti-grav neutron thing. When Jack said something scientifically absurd and wildly inaccurate, Nathan just rolled his eyes and grabbed Jack's arm to lead him to whatever had blown up this time. Talking about funny stories from their youth became commonplace, and all of the sudden they could make jokes to each other without being sarcastic. Sometimes.

Jack and Nathan started eating lunch at Cafe Diem, usually hijacking a back booth so as not to be disturbed. They ignored the occasional curious stare and after a few times it was completely normal for them to be spotted eating lunch or talking in Nathan's office. Well, it was mostly Jack distracting Nathan in his office, but niether minded.

One night found them at Nathan's kitchen table, reading up on some sort of ultra-fast healing device Henry was working on. Jack touched Nathan's hand to attract his attention to ask a question, and Nathan didn't mention during his explanation that Jack's hand was still on his. Jack grinned when he finally turned back to the research, because Nathan had cautiously turned his hand up and interlaced their fingers.

Lunch turned into dinner, and they occasionally even sat on the same side of the booth, with Jack's hand on Nathan's knee, or vice versa. The day Nathan decided they should cook a meal at his house was a fond memory, with Jack spilling sauce on the counter and Nathan cutting a finger with an obscenely large knife. When Nathan brought a spoon to his mouth, and then held it out for Jack to try, he knew he was pushing a boundary. The spoon clattered to the floor when Jack kissed him instead. Nathan made Jack clean up the spill, but it took surprisingly long since they had a brand new distraction.

The week Zoe went to visit Abby, Jack persuaded Nathan to take a few days off, shocking Fargo practically into a coma. The first day was spent talking and kissing, the second was spent in bed. That night, when Jack said "I love you," Nathan smiled, kissed him slowly and said "I love you too."

**Hope you liked it. Review please!**


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